Atmos Only Knows
Sound & Vision|August - September 2023
Producer Giles Martin reveals how he focused on getting a “real” feel when he mixed The Beach Boys’ benchmark 1966 album, Pet Sounds, in Atmos.
MIKE METTER
Atmos Only Knows

After scoring big last year with his stellar Atmos mix of The Beatles’ seminal August 1966 album Revolver, producer Giles Martin was more recently tasked with giving the Atmos treatment to The Beach Boys’ benchmark May 1966 release, Pet Sounds, which is now available for streaming via Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, and Tidal.

In a recent Zoom interview, Martin and I discuss what his approach to dealing with all those infamous Beach Boys vocal stacks entailed, how he guaranteed his Pet Sounds Atmos mix stayed true to the music’s “real” intent, and how he made sure “God Only Knows” comes across as being nothing short of heavenly in its Atmos incarnation. (A longer version of this interview appears in my monthly Spatial Audio File column on the S&V site.)

Mike Mettler: Tell me how you approached working with the Pet Sounds vocal stacks in Atmos.

Giles Martin: The vocals, obviously, are so important because it’s The Beach Boys. In a way, that’s the easiest thing because they are The Beach Boys, and they’re so good. It’s much easier to mix things that already sound that good.

This story is from the August - September 2023 edition of Sound & Vision.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the August - September 2023 edition of Sound & Vision.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM SOUND & VISIONView All
The Big Clean
Sound & Vision

The Big Clean

Chances are you probably do not think about the state of your electronic devices too often. Oh, you might think about all the upgrades you would like to make; where you would put those new tower speakers, or how a second or third subwoofer would really tame those bass modes in your room, or how much more cinematic a larger screen would be. Sure, you think about that part of your system. But how often do you think about the well-being of your system?

time-read
5 mins  |
August - September 2024
Planar-Magnetic Attraction
Sound & Vision

Planar-Magnetic Attraction

THE DIPTYQUE DP 115 speakers are a new model 2-way, ribbon, and planar magnetic driver dipole \"isodynamic\" speaker system designed and built in France.

time-read
10 mins  |
August - September 2024
Full-Featured 4K
Sound & Vision

Full-Featured 4K

THE QN95D is one of two televisions we went hands-on with on a recent trip to Samsung's New Jersey QA Lab, the other being the S95D quantum-dot OLED.

time-read
10+ mins  |
August - September 2024
Party Animal
Sound & Vision

Party Animal

FOR ANY party, the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus Outdoor Bass Bluetooth Speaker is an essential invite.

time-read
7 mins  |
August - September 2024
It's the End of the World. How About Popcorn and a Movie?
Sound & Vision

It's the End of the World. How About Popcorn and a Movie?

Attention all preppers! Today's column is right up your alley-or, more precisely-your tunnel to your underground bunker.

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
Bridging the Analog-Digital Gap on a Recliner
Sound & Vision

Bridging the Analog-Digital Gap on a Recliner

When I shopped for a motorized recliner, I rejected models with their own Internet Protocol address and built-in speakers. No need. I had already placed a smart speaker on an étagère beside the space where I had planned to put the chair. I'd have a smartphone in my hand and the room would be bathed in Wi-Fi.

time-read
4 mins  |
August - September 2024
BACK TO THE GARDEN
Sound & Vision

BACK TO THE GARDEN

AN AQUARIAN EXPOSITION in WHITE LAKE, N.Y.

time-read
10+ mins  |
August - September 2024
Big Sound, Small Price
Sound & Vision

Big Sound, Small Price

DOLBY ATMOS, once a costly premium, is enjoying a surge of popularity across a range of new audio gear.

time-read
10+ mins  |
August - September 2024
Classic Sound with Streaming Smarts
Sound & Vision

Classic Sound with Streaming Smarts

THE TWENTIETH century had its Roaring Twenties; welcome to the twenty-first's Streaming Twenties.

time-read
10+ mins  |
August - September 2024
Stand and Deliver
Sound & Vision

Stand and Deliver

IT DOESN'T seem all that long ago that SVS first entered the audio scene.

time-read
9 mins  |
August - September 2024